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        General >> Give/Need advice to/from others >> Glovebox light - the switch fix
        
(Message started by: Ivan Pevnitsky on Sep 10^th, 2009, 10:21pm)

Title: Glovebox light - the switch fix
Post by Ivan Pevnitsky on Sep 10^th, 2009, 10:21pm

For 2 years I haven't had a time to change the glovebox bulb. Last month i've been fixing little "holes", and now it came to the glovebox.
I put a new bulb, and what I remembered when doing this is that I have occasionally read somewhere here on the forum that glovebox light could stay ON even when closed!

I tried to leave a little hole to check if light goes off, but no way for this: when the glovebox is closed it's really almost impossible to know whether the light inside is ON or OFF.

What I did is set video mode on my movile and put it inside the glovebox:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqMavMWwpw

Note that after a closing click the light became turned ON again. And you won't see it from outside

The easiest way to do was to stick something between the door and the button, but I wanted to know what's the cause.

here's the switch:
http://ipevnitsky.fromru.su/GloveBox/Glovebox_Switch.jpg
When the button is pressed it disconnects the spring connected with bulb from a bottom contact.

But since the button is made of not enoughly hard plastic the spring rubs it away by years of usage:

http://ipevnitsky.fromru.su/GloveBox/Glovebox_SwitchGaps_s.jpg (http://ipevnitsky.fromru.su/GloveBox/Glovebox_SwitchGaps.jpg)
The gaps are very little but it's enough for the switch not to move the spring away from the contact.

What I did is "transplanted" a little plastic from unneeded place :)
http://ipevnitsky.fromru.su/GloveBox/Glovebox_SwitchGaps_filled_s.jpg (http://ipevnitsky.fromru.su/GloveBox/Glovebox_SwitchGaps_filled.jpg)

Fitted all back and voilà! The light now goes off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcYNA3pcDgQ
(the red is from my mobile's LED)

Hope this might help someone ;)

I want to say a great thanks to this forum, because if I didn't occasionally read about this problem I would never know that the light stays ON in my car, and would have troubles with battery.

Title: Re: Glovebox light - the switch fix
Post by firebug on Sep 10^th, 2009, 10:52pm

Hi,

Very common fault. Nice idea you have here though I know some faster and easier ways to fix the problem using epoxy glue on the top of the button extending it, other one involves a 2mm hard rubber seal you put between the mechanism and it's mounting.